Family and friends lost a multi-faceted, dedicated surgeon whose kind heart failed him after 80 years of a fun-filled life.
John was born in Los Angeles in 1944 to loving parents Ilah and Milford Montgomery. He grew up with his older sister Cheryl and younger sister Rita in Inglewood, California. He and Jean, his wife of 54 years, raised two children, Maggie and Max, in Fortuna. He was known by his family as smart, caring, supportive, competent, creative, logical, frugal, funny, optimistic and humble.
John graduated from UCLA in 1965 and spent the summer crewing and racing on his uncle’s 73-foot staysail schooner, before entering USC Medical School. During that summer he met his future wife, Jean, whom he married in 1970. He completed his General Surgery Residency at LAC-USC Medical School in 1974 and served in the Air Force from 1974 to 1976 as a major at the NATO base in Adana, Turkey…